Gold Fever Sends European Stocks Soaring as Miners Strike It Rich

A golden tide lifts the Old World

Frankfurt—When the opening bell rang across the Rhine this morning, traders scarcely had time to finish their first espresso. European stocks leapt, paced by a blistering rally in precious metals that turned quiet mining houses into the continent’s hottest tickets.

By mid-session the STOXX 600 had added 1.4%, but the real fireworks crackled in the cavernous trading pits of Aurelius AG and Randgold-sur-Europe. Shares of the German gold specialist surged 9.7%—its best day since 2020—while silver streamer Wheaton European Partners tacked on 8.3%. The spark? A fresh record in spot gold at $2,430 an ounce and silver hitting a 12-year peak north of $32.

From safe haven to profit engine

“Clients aren’t buying bullion to hide anymore; they’re buying growth,” laughed Elena Varga, a metals strategist at Vienna’s Raiffeisen Centre, brandishing a freshly printed research note. Her thesis: with the Eurozone inflation stuck above 2% and the ECB signalling a slower path of rate cuts, real yields remain negative—catnip for non-yielding assets like gold.

“Every 1% rise in the euro-denominated gold price adds roughly €110 million to sector-wide EBITDA. We’re watching a cash-flow geyser,” Varga told Market Chronicle.

Miners morph into tech-style multiples

Investors who once dismissed diggers as clunky commodity plays now speak of them in the same breath as cloud stocks. Nordic Gold AB trades at 24× forward earnings, richer than several Stockholm software names. Fund flows tell the story: European precious-metals equity ETFs absorbed €1.8 billion in the past four weeks, the fastest pace on record, according to EPFR Global.

What could possibly go wrong?

Seasoned hands still remember 2013’s taper-tantrum massacre. Yet today’s backdrop feels different:

• Central-bank buying—led by Poland and the Czech Republic—hit an all-time quarterly high in Q1.
• Geopolitical jittersfrom Ukraine to the Red Sea keep haven demand white-hot.
• Physical shortages: London vaults report the tightest gold lease rates since 1980.

Still, a sharp dollar rebound or a surprise ECB hike could puncture the euphoria. “Respect the volatility,” warned Julian Rossi, portfolio manager at Milan’s Banca Albertini. “But respect the trend more.”

Main Street wants in

At a Deutsche Börse kiosk, 28-year-old nurse Lina Coutinho queued to buy her first gold-miner ETF. “My savings account pays 1.2%. This story feels like it has legs,” she shrugged, tapping her phone to refresh a glittering chart. She is not alone—German brokerage Comdirect saw metals-equity trades quadruple this week.

Looking ahead

All eyes now turn to next Tuesday’s U.S. CPI print. A soft number could cement bets on two Fed cuts this year, weakening the dollar and propelling Euro gold past €2,300 per ounce. Strategists at BNP Paribas upped their STOXX 600 target to 540, implying another 6% upside—much of it, they say, powered by the Continent’s suddenly beloved diggers.

For the moment, Europe’s bourses bask in a golden after-glow. And as the sun sets behind Frankfurt’s steel-and-glass skyline, the only thing brighter than the sky is the shine of precious-metal equities on every trader’s screen.